Sirajudeen Chemmily | The Interview

Sirajudeen Chemmily or just Siraj, as he is known among the Kerala soccer fanatics, was a major force behind Viva Kerala's impressive run in the last season of I-League 2009-10. The midfielder who was in red hot form, especially towards the second half of the season, met eyes of several big clubs before making a move to Kolkata with Chirag United for the 2010-11 season.

Fellow Keralites

The playmaker midfielder seems to be enjoying the city of Kolkata with his other friends from Kerala - Denson Devdas is the captain of the side and Nousahd K who made his move to the team from Viva Kerala with Siraj. "All is well. The city is good and we enjoy it with all Malayalis here," said the player. "We often visit our friends playing for other clubs here. Dhanarajan (who plays for McDowell's Mohun Bagan) was here to celebrate Christmas with us!", he added.

But the things are not going that well for the man from Kozhikode on the field. The player is yet to break into the starting eleven of Chirag United squad. Siraj has just played around five matches for his team this season which includes some Kolkata league matches. Asking about this, Sirajudeen was heard saying, "I have been trying very hard, practicing regularly, but its too tough to get a chance in this strong team".

Siraj has all the good to say about his captain, Denson Devdas from Kannur, Kerala. "I think he is a really good player. He is very supportive and I have a lot of things to learn from him", Siraj said. "I think he must play for the Indian national team," Siraj commented. The other Keralite Nousahd is a right back. "Noushad has also played less this season, but I am sure he will get his chances soon as our team has some concerns in the defense," said Siraj.

Remembering the roots

Image not recoveredSirajudeen was a rookie playing for his college (Farook College, Kozhikode) when he was selected to the Viva Kerala ** squad for I-League 2009-10 by the then head coach AM Sreedharan. The midfielder was quick to adapt to new playing standards and established himself as one of the best midfielders from Kerala at the end of the season.

"We were an inexperienced lot going into the I-League, but under the assistance of Sreedharan Sir we developed meticulously and could challenge the big guns of Indian football," the ex-Viva Keralite couldn't hide a grin.

“I think Patrick (Sisupalan), Sakeer and me had a great understanding and we were combining really well. Also the defense was strong from the start with Surjith, Bello Razaq and Chalres Dzisah,” Sirajudeen reviewed the last season’s Viva Kerala line up.

What does he find the biggest difference between Chirag United and Viva Kerala? “The training facilities are better her, but can improve further. But for me the biggest difference is that, over here, they manage everything tidily including finances,” Siraj replied. Nothing feels better than getting your salary on time!

The new boys at Viva

Siraj was very much interested about talking Viva Kerala, his former Image not recoveredteam. The midfielder also informed that he still has his old club close to heart and is following the team. “I heard that the team is doing good, but sad that they haven’t left behind the habit of conceding late goals,” Siraj said.

Siraj says that the boys are in a same position as the team was last season. “They are inexperienced, but will improve with every match.” “They also have some good players who can play vital roles for the club. For example, Anil Kumar is a good player and he has performed well in the last matches as I have heard,” Sirajudeen said FootballKerala.com.

Is this Viva Kerala line up better than last year? For Siraj, it isn’t! “Even though we have better striking department this time, I feel a bit too many players left the club. The lack of Surjith, Sakeer and Patrick will make a big difference.” For Siraj, Viva Kerala must make sure of survival this time also and become a more challenging side in the next season.

Anyone who has watched him play for Viva Kerala last season knows this young player is definitely not a person who is to warm the bench. Let us hope that Siraj will be back playing soon (hopefully back at Viva Kerala?) and produce the results which he has the potential to provide.

Adwaidh Rajan writes for FootballKerala.com

From the archive. First published on footballkerala.com on Tuesday 11 January 2011, restored from the site's 2012 database. Text as originally published.